Ink: A Poem Review

Ink

Bottled in glass

Meaningless in itself

Black and mute without language

Silent but strongly urged 

To speak

Ink 

Chance-impressed on white

Inarticulate, unintelligible, chaotic

Welcome on the bareness of white

But still foreign

Excommunicate

But ink

Pen-lifted, pen-impressed 

On blank white paper

Will-ordered

Interprets, intensifies, clarifies

Expresses 

Life

     The poem is about a writer and his paper. His ideas, the ink that are enclosed in a bottle, mixed up, and meaningless until he decided to set free his thoughts. And when he started to add few drops of ink on the paper, his mind now explores. As if every single drop of his idea leads to something new and followed by another topic until he has few ink left and finally started to end up his paper with the last drop of idea (ink) from the bottle which is meaningless at first. It was like the ideas were trapped inside that bottle for long time and when it has the chance to mess with the paper, everything flows well as if the thoughts were just rushing through the head of the writer. But when the writer kept everything for himself, time will pass and the ink inside the bottle will dry up, will remained unused and unsaid until another brave person came up with that idea and share it to others. It is just like courting a girl, when the guy has feelings for someone he should not be afraid to express it or else other guys will go for the girl and he will be hunted by the "what if's" and regrets. When he is rejected, it's fine, atleast he tried and had the courage to show his feelings. And maybe he was rejected because his approach to the girl is too aggressive, just like in creating ideas, others will not appreciate your work if you have unorganized thoughts or your approach on the piece of paper is wrong . And on the last stanza, it said that if you wrapped your idea in order or expressively, it will shows life.

     I like this poem because it summarizes life. As a youth, we have our thoughts and feelings left unsaid because we are afraid and unsure. At first, we are pointless inside our box, we can't decide for ourselves but once we step out and reach for other possibilities we will be open to reality, to a different world, we never knew existed. We will suddenly have this desire to let go of our feelings and when we had our chance to prove ourselves, our meaningless life will have sense. It may be good, bad, hatred, hardships, success, it all depends on us.

     We, young people are so curious that's why we want to try everything, as if we are birds who escaped from our cages and want to fly far until our wings weakened. And when we see real things, our innocent mind will be filled with ideas that may affect our belief; it’s on us how we will filter them. The most important thing to remember is we cannot carelessly write anything on our book of life without the support of others. We should let ourselves be affected and be inspired by other people. At first try it is fine if we will end up in a dirty sheet of paper, for we are careless, and we write everything that comes in our mind, no drive, no direction. But once we are given another sheet of blank paper, this time we should set goals and ideas that you want to focus on, on what you want your life to be.

Written by Thea Katrina Fernandez

Photo credits: https://www.tumblr.com/search/an%C4%91eli

Poem Review: Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

Coveted her and me.

Annabel Lee is the last poem completed by Edgar Allan Poe before his death. Annabel Lee is a well know poem of Poe’s that may refer to many women in his life, but scrutinizing some of Annabel lee’s line we infer that this poem talks about his wife Virginia Clemm, Poe’s wife, who he married when she was still in a young age and died a couple of years before him because of a disease.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulcher

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

Reading a few stanzas we can know that love is a huge theme in his poem. It promotes undying love that even the death of his loved one won’t stop him for loving her, and truly death won’t tear them apart and no one can stop him. While the main theme of this poem is love it doesn’t only address to the sweet happiness you gain from it, it digs deeper to the dangerous fragments of this affection he had, the way love can torture and destroy you leaving you all alone.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

   Of those who were older than we—

   Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above

   Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

It somehow talks about envy, like the angels are not happy, that’s why they made something that causes the death of dear Annabel Lee.

What is it with this poem that attracts me? Maybe the 4 years in high school that we have tackled this poem or maybe the catchy lines that makes me ponder on it more. This poem tells us that love on any forms has no boundaries, even death. Death can’t stop us from caring, loving our beloved ones or even forgetting them. Death can’t change our dreams and hopes and is a challenge we can surpass.

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling— my life and my bride,

 In her sepulcher there by the sea—

 In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Review written by: Venice Majella Napo

Photo credits: https://www.etsy.com/listing/74071598/annabel-leeedgar-allen-poes-muse

Les Miserables - A review

          

  I was never one who enjoyed reading classical novels but Les Miserables by Victor Hugo was an exception for me. Les Miserables is a novel set in the time of the French revolution, a truly dark time for France. Hugo will take you back in time and put you in the shoes of different characters, different points of view. The novel starts off with the story of Jean Valjean, and how he ended up as 24601 for stealing a loaf of bread. Aside from Jean Valjean, Les Mis is also filled with stories of Fantine, Cosette, Marius, Eponine, Javert and the Les Amis to name the major characters of the novel.

            These characters, though they are many, all contribute to the picture that Hugo is trying to paint with his book. Jean Valjean is the face of sacrifice in the story. He stole a loaf of bread and ended up in jail for the son of his sister who was starving to death. He also sacrificed a lot in his later life for the little girl Cosette. Fantine, just like Valjean, also represented sacrifice. She, as a single mother, did everything to provide for her daughter, Cosette. Cosette was the face of purity in the novel. Through all the violence that happened in the story, she remained untouched and untainted by all the bloodshed and unfortunate events that happened around her. Marius represented uncertainty, which I am quite sure that it is something not unusual in a time of uprising. Marius was torn between Cosette and his friends in the Les Amis. Love against Revolution and Friendship. Eponine showed selfless love which was directed towards Marius. Even though Marius loved another, Eponine still loved him the same and was even able to die for him. Javert was the face of justice. He was a man who built his life based on law. The Les Amis, last but not the least, represented the majority of the French population in the time of the revolution. They were young revolutionaries who were idealists and had high hopes for the future of their beloved land.

           

Les Miserables, just like any other novel that is taken up in English classes, is also filled with metaphors and symbolisms that will surely make the reader think deeply and philosophically about the novel. This is one reason why I loved the novel. It had a lot of room for thinking and analyzing. Another reason why I am very fond of this novel, and quite possibly my favorite reason why I am passionate with this particular novel, is that I am able to identify myself with the characters especially Eponine. Eponine, throughout the novel, had an amazing development. She started out as a spoiled brat, a daughter to two thieves and a girl who made Cosette’s childhood miserable but when she finally grew up, everything about her changed. She was changed by her love for Marius. She was no longer the selfish, spoiled little brat but a brave, selfless woman who was ready to do anything for the man she loved. I identify with her in such a way that I also would like to think that I am a changed person because of love.

Les Miserables is both timeless and timely. It is a classic novel that voices out the past while also shaping the present and future. It is a novel that will always overcome the test of time because it is beautiful and remarkable, two traits that renders a story immortal. 

Review written by: Ma. Angela Villanueva

Photo credit: http://pixgood.com/les-miserables-book-cover.html